Cambodian financial associations pledge lending and debt collection improvements
The banking and microfinance groups say planned support includes individual loan restructuring and wider access to complaint resolution.
Two Cambodian financial associations pledged on October 21 to improve lending standards, debt collection and financial education, acknowledging that household debt and repayment difficulties remain significant concerns. The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) and the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) outlined the commitments in a joint statement.
The groups said they would help borrowers facing repayment problems through loan restructuring considered individually and broaden access to fair, effective complaint resolution. They also committed to supporting regular checks on industry practices and carrying out remaining priority actions.
According to the associations, borrower safeguards already introduced include limits on taking state, protected or community land as security for new lending. Personal identity cards cannot be used as collateral, while repayment assessments for low-income households have been strengthened to help reduce excessive borrowing.
Other initiatives cited by the groups include lending guidelines, standardised loan agreements, an industry code of conduct and training in responsible lending that drew more than 48,000 participants. They also listed governance and consumer protection training and the establishment of the Financial Consumer Protection Center (FCPC).
The associations said they were coordinating with the National Bank of Cambodia, member institutions and development partners on measures intended to complement the central bank’s rules and supervision. They advised customers to raise financial difficulties or complaints with their lenders first, then approach the FCPC if the matter remained unresolved.
